The Mysterious Powder
The reason why this powder is so highly venerated and desired is one of the big revelations revealed in the book, the dark magic of the circus sucks out tiny beads of peoples souls, which solidify into the mysterious, extremely fine powder that is heavier than it feels and clinks like glass to the touch. Melting this powder in a bowl or spoon and drinking enough of it will grant you whatever your heart desires if you have enough of it, a process which the player must learn through trial and error. Of course due to the restraints of the game, powder can only be used to grant desires from a pre-determined list, that will have measurements added once the player discovers how much to use, and more items may be added to the list as the game progresses. Trading bags will get you certain items, such as weapons, or carnival food to increase your health, but the powder is much more useful than that. Excerpt from The Pilo Family Circus explaining the powder in more detail. ‘No,’ said Jamie. ‘I know about the forttme-teller, I think. Subliminal commands, or whatever you'd call it. She tried it on me the frst day.’ ‘Yes, you see what she does. Do you know the results of her commands? Around the world, disasters, murders, crimes and suffering. Shalice could start a war, if she was ordered to. I do not doubt she has.’ ‘What about the rest of us?’ said Jamie. ‘You, me, the acrobats. What do we do? What are we for?’ ‘We are thieves, Jamie. We steal something more precious than life. If only it were as simple as killing those who fall into our trap! Each part of the show is designed to part the tricks with the most precious thing they have: the human soul, Jamie. We steal them by the dozen. It began a long time ago. Kurt Pilo Senior established the circus as a farm for human souls, and that is what it remains. During his travels, Kurt Senior stole many forbidden things, artefacts and tomes kept hidden from the world, hidden for good reason. In a couple of decades, he tracked down the world's deepest secrets, guided by an intuition too astute to be his own. No doubt he was being used, not that he knew it. He travelled across the world on his thieving treasure hunt, the world's most vile pirate, yet a complete unknown in human history. He traversed paths of black magic never traversed before. With each new secret unveiled, his powers grew and he opened lines of communication with forces long banished from the world. They were banished to make way for humankind. They have the bodies of ultimate reptile predators and power that seems godlike to us. They would devour us if they had the chance. We are a delicacy to them, Jamie, an exquisite treat. They are addicted to us. ‘No one knows who expelled these beasts from the human world. It may have been God, if God exists . . . May have been shamans in tribes long lost to time, may have been Mother Nature herself. In this dark little realm the demon bastards lay, longing for the world they once ran rampant through. They starved and waited for a very long time, and for a very long time none knew their secrets. None knew they existed. ‘In their prison the rules of the outside world did not apply, and because those rules were unable to hold them, laws beyond the natural laws were required. And they banged on the walls of their cell until someone heard. That someone was Kurt Pilo Senior. He found in his studies a way to reach these beings in their prison. They bargained with him. They lured him towards them. He agreed to bring them what they craved, what they were unable to go forth and take for themselves. They helped him cheat mortality, he and all who work for him. The powder helps us do this. If Kurt Junior had not become impatient to run the circus himself, Pilo Senior would still be here. ‘Once human beings are lured here, they are as good as gone. Unfamiliar with the dimensions and boundaries that lock in these feasting predators, any human is easy enough prey; robbing souls is as simple as hypnotising someone and ordering them to shed their clothes. And this is where we come in. We each play a different part in persuading the tricks to part with what is most precious. We are paid with some of what we steal; the dust. It is the human soul shattered into pieces like some glass statue and discarded, for here, where the natural laws are not quite the same, the soul can be translated into something physical, tangible, almost as ﬂesh. Some call it wish dust, prayer dust- but it is soul dust. ‘For a human to part with their soul, he or she must be persuaded, deceived. Just as a person has a breaking point where he will decide living is unbearable and will choose death, a person has a breaking point where they will part with the force behind their physical life. For some, greed is enough. Those lose themselves in Sideshow Alley. Step right up, win a prize. The greedy ones play for baubles and trinkets, while under the carnival’s spell they gamble and lose more than they know. Little diamond crystals fall to the ground like beads of sweat. The dwarfs collect them at night. ‘The acrobats appeal to vanity. Beautiful creatures, they dazzle all who watch their movements; the vain and insecure covet them. Silently whispering in their ears is the voice of the circus, the demon bastards, stripping them with promises. This beauty could be yours. What would you do with such power, such grace? Little diamond crystals fall to the ﬂoor. The dwarfs collect them at night. ‘So on for each of us. Mugabo’s show appeals to those who crave power, though Mugabo doesn't know it. While he does his paltry tricks, whispering in the audience’s ears just beyond hearing is: this power could be yours. What would you do with such power? The woodchoppers, similarly, appeal to the frail and weak and downtrodden. The clowns appeal to the rebellious, the cruel, the naturally wicked- everyone has the capacity for wickedness. The clown show always includes an authority figure being usurped. Have you noticed?’ Jamie thought back to the show he'd seen, with Gonko strolling onstage in a British copper’s uniform. ‘Do you see a pattem here, Jamie?’ Fishboy continued in his strange high-pitched voice. ‘Every human weakness is catered to by some part of the show. Everyone has a pressure point, and like moths to flame they are drawn to whatever attraction will best be able to milk them. Despite that, some resist, clinging to their souls with rare tenacity. Which is where we freaks come in. Our hideous bodies pulverise that strength, horrifying the strong into letting go.’ ‘One more thing,’ Jamie said. ‘The fortune-teller. If she doesn't steal people’s—I don't know . . . souls, what does she do?’ ‘The people who walk in whole leave as living shells. But that is not enough for the Pilos. They want to inﬂict as much havoc and pain on the outside World as possible. To this end, Shalice sets off series of events like dominos toppling, which finish in disasters. Each trick she commands is the first domino to fall. It is revenge, we theorise, from those banished to this prison. Perhaps they want to cause so much pain their jailer will be forced to bargain with them. No one knows.